Hearts
by Number 15
Summary: Kingdom Hearts/DNAngel crossover. A novelization of Kingdom Hearts, replacing some of the characters with DN Angel characters. Rating may go up in later chapters. DISCONTINUED
1. Awakening, part the first

Ha! I have written another fanfic! This time, it's a crossover! Mwa! Excessive punctuation:ahem: Anyway, this is novelization of Kingdom Hearts (waits for someone to yell "overused idea!"), except some of the characters have been replaced with DN Angel characters. Whee! Puns ahoy! (mostly because of the name "Dark")

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel or Kingdom Hearts. However, the characters are available, and I will use them. Don't sue me.

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_I've been having these weird thoughts lately... Like, is any of this real…or not?_

He was falling. The substance around him was freezing and felt like water against his bare skin, but he was dry. It felt like he was descending into the depths of the ocean, or perhaps a bottomless chasm. He couldn't move his body; he was paralyzed, but he wasn't scared. In fact, he enjoyed his fall.

Crimson eyes opened just in time to be blinded by a bright white light. When the light cleared, he was standing on a beach, facing the ocean that he thought he had just been sinking into. Overhead, the sun blazed brightly, glinting off of the blueness of the ocean and the figure standing knee-deep in the surf.

It was a boy, he realized, one of his best friends. He would recognize the messy purple hair anywhere, no doubt about it. It was definitely Dark. He started to run towards the boy in the water, but stopped short when he glanced at the tide. He stared at it to make sure he wasn't seeing things, as the water seemed to be retreating from the shore and away from him. He glanced back up and his suspicions were confirmed.

Looming high above Dark was a massive tidal wave. Dark was facing the wave, clearly able to see it coming, but he did nothing to move out of the way, nor did he do anything that told anyone that he had seen the wall of water. As he dashed through the shallow water, arm extended, the Dark turned around, attracted by the noise. Purple eyes met crimson and Dark calmly extended his hand, seemingly oblivious to the tidal wave just a few feet behind him.

Then the wave crashed down. He was thrown backwards by the force of the water and forced downward, spinning and tumbling as he went. Struggling to breathe, he looked at his friend to find him in the exact same position as before, hand still extended. He grabbed for the proffered hand again and again, but a strong undercurrent shoved him backwards more.

He emerged, gasping for air and coughing, into what appeared to be early evening sunlight. He shook his red hair a couple times and nearly fell into the water again. He felt a hand grasp his own and was hauled out of the water and back onto the sand.

"Daisuke, are you okay?"

It was a boy about his age, with short pale blue hair and matching blue eyes. He had a serious look on his face, combined with a touch of concern.

"Satoshi…thanks."

Satoshi didn't answer, but rather stared interestedly at the sky above and behind Daisuke. Daisuke turned around to see what he was looking at, thinking that it was the first star of the night, or a bird. Instead, his eyes focused on a larger object that was falling through the air, a person, a boy with red hair and…

Daisuke's eyes got much larger when he came to the realization that the object was him, which confused him. He was falling through the air, but he was also standing on the sand next to Satoshi, and he didn't seem to be affected, like Dark and the tidal wave. Daisuke suddenly felt like he _was_ falling, just as he had before he ended up on the beach. Ground became sky and Daisuke reached for Satoshi, willing him to grab his hand, but the blue-haired boy did nothing. Then he disappeared, leaving only a ripple.

Again, Daisuke was falling through what felt like water, but this time it wasn't as enjoyable and he didn't reappear on his island home. Instead, he landed in a dark blue void with no clear exit. There was no one there save for him, and it scared him a bit. Without knowing or meaning to, he took a step forward and was blinded by a bright light from below. Shards of the light flew up, causing Daisuke to throw up his arms in self-defense, until he realized that the "shards" were actually birds.

"Doves…?"

As more birds took flight, Daisuke noticed a picture being revealed. When the last bird had left and its feathers had settled to the ground, Daisuke looked at his surroundings. He seemed to be standing on a large circular platform with a picture of a woman with black hair and a blue and yellow dress eating an apple. Around her were pictures of bearded men, seven to be exact, each with a different facial expression. Daisuke was still alone physically, but he felt less so with the woman and her companions, even if they were only parts of a piece of artwork.

Daisuke pushed his hair up on top of his head, something he often did when he was thinking, and sighed. He had no idea what to do. As if reading his thoughts, a voice spoke to him—he couldn't tell where it came from; it seemed to be everywhere at once and at the same time, nowhere. He looked around for the source, including over his shoulder. Nothing.

_So much to do... So little time... Take your time..._

Daisuke was baffled. If there wasn't enough time, why should he take his time?

_But don't be afraid. The door is still shut._

"Door? What door?" Daisuke asked the voice skeptically.

_Now, step forward. Can you do it?_

Daisuke was slightly wary of the voice that kept telling him what to do, but he figured that it knew a lot more about the place he was in than he did. So, cautiously, he lifted his right foot off of the ground and slowly put it down in front of him. Nothing happened, so he took another step. Still nothing. He kept walking until he ended up in the center of the platform and stood still, waiting for the mysterious voice to give more instructions. It seemed to read his thoughts again.

_Power sleeps within you._

The ground rumbled, threatening to throw Daisuke off balance, and from the floor to his left came a pedestal with a red shield on it. The shield was rectangular-shaped, with a design in the middle comprised of three circles stuck together—one in the middle and two on top of that.

_If you give it form..._

More rumbling, and a second pedestal rose up from the floor, this time to Daisuke's right and this time there was a blue and green staff perched on top of it. The design on top of the staff was the same as the one in the middle of the shield.

…_It will give you strength._

After these words, a third pedestal rose from the floor straight ahead, bearing a sword. It wasn't very ornate and it didn't have the same design as the shield and the staff, but it did have a gem embedded in the gold and blue hilt.

_Choose well._

Daisuke looked at each of the items, which were floating a couple inches above their respective pedestals. He had to choose one of them? He hesitated slightly, then walked over to the staff and plucked it from its spot.

_The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. Is this the power you seek?_

Daisuke absently turned the staff over in his hands, thinking about what the voice had said. After a few seconds, he shook his head and placed the staff back on the pedestal. He went over to the shield and grabbed it instead.

_The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this the power you seek?_

He slipped the shield on his arm and waved it around a bit. Somehow, it didn't feel quite right, like it was a piece of clothing that was the wrong size. He shook his head and put the shield down. He approached the last item, the sword, and picked it up instead.

_The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. Is this the power you seek?_

Daisuke nodded. The sword felt better in his hands than the staff or shield had. Without warning, the sword disappeared from his hands, breaking into tiny shards of light. Daisuke frowned, wondering why he picked the blade if it was just going to disappear. The voice spoke again. He was beginning to get used to it by now.

_Your path is set. Now…what will you give up in exchange?_

Now he understood why there was three items. He couldn't have all the power at once; he had to pick one to have and one to give up, and the third one was inaccessible. He pushed his hair on top of his head again and stared at the remaining items. Finally, he made up his mind and approached the shield.

_The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. You give up this power?_

Daisuke nodded again, and the shield disappeared in the same manner as the sword. He wondered why the voice felt the need to repeat itself, as well as telling him what his choices were.

_You have chosen the power of the warrior. You've given up the power of the guardian. Is this the form you choose?_

He nodded. A sudden jolt sent him sprawling to the ground as the pedestals sank into the ground around him. The rumbling continued and the ground shattered around him like glass. He felt himself falling again, but much faster this time, and there was no person or object to get a hold of. Daisuke was falling headfirst now and upside down he caught a glimpse of pale blue. His first thought was of his friend, but then he realized that it was much too large. With some effort, he managed to flip himself right side up just in time to land on a second circular platform.

This one had a picture of a woman as well, but she was blonde and dressed in a light blue dress. Around her were pictures that told a story, but Daisuke wasn't entirely sure what it was. It looked like a fairy tale.

_You've gained the power to fight. Take a swing._

The voice spoke again, and the sword Daisuke had chosen earlier appeared in his hands. He blinked, surprised, and took a few swings as the voice had instructed.

_Use this power to protect yourself and others._

Daisuke grinned nervously; now the voice was insulting his intelligence. The grin faded slightly when a dark patch appeared on the platform. He took a step towards it and leaned forward curiously, as the patch moved and a small black creature with luminous yellow eyes rose out of it. It was sort of cute.

_There will be times you have to fight_.

Two more black patches marred the surface of the platform and from them came two more black creatures identical to the first. Daisuke took a step backwards.

_Keep your light burning strong._

Both black creatures leapt at him at Daisuke at the same time, and the boy jumped back. Then, remembering the sword in his hands, brought the blade down and slashed at one of the shadow's heads. It sliced what he figured was the creature's skin, yet it didn't seem to affect it any. Daisuke swung again. And again. On the third swing, the shadow creature burst into mist. Daisuke was about to go after the other two creatures, but they flattened themselves into the ground and disappeared.

_Behind you!_

Daisuke spun on his heel and slashed at a shadow that had just emerged from the ground, following the same pattern as before. There was one last black creature, but before Daisuke could turn his attention to it, he noticed something odd. More black patches were forming around him, but no more creatures were forming from them. Instead, they gathered around him, and Daisuke, panicking, tried to move away and failed. A huge dark patch formed underneath him and he felt it grasp his legs and pull him down. The substance felt like quicksand, but it was cold and seemed more evil. The more he struggled, the more it pulled him in, until only his head was above the blackness. He reached a hand up, grabbing for the platform, grabbing at the air itself, before his head was also enveloped in the blackness.

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Since it's so stupidly long, I'm going to split the Awakening into two parts. Part 2 will be up soon. Read and review please! Flames will be used to heat my house. 


	2. Awakening, part the second

Part 2 of the Awakening.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, or DN Angel. I really don't want to own them, either.

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Daisuke fought the darkness with everything he had, as if his life depended on it. Who was to tell otherwise, maybe his life _did_ depend on it. He kept his eyes clenched shut and didn't take a single breath as he reached and clawed at the blackness, searching for a break. However, when one hand struck something hard and flat, he immediately opened his eyes to find himself lying on his back on some kind of floor. Turning his head to one side revealed a wide expanse of pink; another colored platform. Daisuke let out the breath he had been holding and got to his feet.

The platform didn't have a single woman on it this time, but instead had three large hearts, each containing a pale silhouette of the same girl. That was all. There didn't seem to be any story being told, unlike the pictures before. Across the platform from Daisuke, there was a shaft of light shining down from seemingly nowhere, illuminating an arch-shaped object. Upon closer inspection, it was decided to be a door. Daisuke reached out and placed his hand against it.

"Is this the door…?" Daisuke murmured.

It was a very beautiful door. It was nearly twice Daisuke's own height, a translucent pinkish-white color all around, and covered with an ornate design. The edge of the platform could be seen behind the door, supporting an unspoken claim that the door actually went nowhere. It was divided into two smaller doors that opened outwards from the middle, but when Daisuke tried to open them, they wouldn't budge.

"I can't open it…"

Just then, he heard something behind him and turned around. There was another beam of light, this time illuminating something much smaller than the door. He headed over to the object and saw a small red chest sitting there on the ground. He reached out and tapped the top of chest a few times before jumping back, just in case it was a deception. For all he knew, there was one of those black creatures hiding in there. When nothing jumped out at him, he pried open the lid and was promptly greeted with sparkles. Whatever had been in the chest had apparently disappeared. Disappointed, Daisuke turned back to the door.

This time, the door was no longer transparent. Daisuke ran over to it and was just reaching for one of the handles when the door slowly started opening by itself. Something was coming through the other side, and Daisuke quickly stepped back to allow it room.

The door opened wider and a bright light started seeping through. It reminded Daisuke of the light that had blinded him on his island earlier. Maybe this door led back to the island! Shielding his eyes so that he could see where he was going, Daisuke approached the door as it opened wider and was soon swallowed by the brightness.

Daisuke could hear the ocean somewhere in the brightness, but he couldn't pinpoint it. A few moments later, the whiteness had lifted from his vision and he found himself on a wooden tree house platform, looking out at the ocean again. He was right, this _was_ his home. Daisuke grinned.

_Hold on. The door won't open just yet. First, tell me more about yourself._

Daisuke jumped. There was the voice; he had forgotten all about it. His grin faded and turned quickly to a frown. The voice was still there, which meant that the entire thing could still be a dream, although it felt so _real_. Daisuke decided to take a better look at his surroundings and was surprised to see two girls and a boy standing there on the platform with him. One of the girls was standing directly in front of him. She had short light brown hair, brown eyes, and was wearing blue-and-white sailor top and green shorts. She was standing by the railing, staring out at the ocean. Daisuke ran up to her.

"What's most important to you?" the girl asked when Daisuke came near.

Daisuke opened his mouth, but nothing came out. The girl stared at him, waiting for an answer. Daisuke wished she would do something besides stare.

"Uh…friendship. Yeah," he finally answered.

"Is friendship such a big deal?" The girl turned away from Daisuke, who was struck dumb. Was this really one of his friends? Why was everyone acting so weird? He backed quickly away from the girl. Unfortunately, someone else was standing in the path of his retreat, another girl, and bumped right into her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were there!" Daisuke apologized.

This one had longer hair and it was a darker brown, but she had the same color eyes as the first girl. She was wearing a short-sleeved knee-length green dress and her hair was tied back with a matching green ribbon. She didn't react to Daisuke's apology, but rather responded with a question.

"What are you so afraid of?" she asked.

Daisuke didn't have to think long. "Being different."

"Being different? Is that really so scary?" She, too, turned away.

Now Daisuke was entirely sure that he was having a dream. There was no way his friends would actually act like that in real life. It was like they only wanted to ask him their questions and then he was completely useless to them. Still, he hoped against hope that the boy on the platform would say something more normal.

Speaking of normal, the boy's appearance was far from it. He was much taller than Daisuke and had his red-brown hair gelled up so much that it stuck straight up. His clothes were very bright and he was twirling a volleyball-sized blue and white ball on one finger. He stopped twirling the ball and tucked it under his arm when Daisuke came near.

"What do you want outta life?" the boy asked casually.

"I want to be strong."

"To be strong, huh?" The boy resumed twirling the ball. He looked like he was about to laugh at Daisuke's answer, causing the redhead to frown. The other boy didn't seem to notice. Daisuke started to walk away, to get off the platform, but his feet wouldn't move. Then the mysterious voice spoke up.

_Your adventure begins at midday. Keep a steady pace and you'll come through fine. The day you will open the door is both far off and very near._

Daisuke was very confused. His adventure? Keep a steady pace? He thought he had already opened the door. Evidently the voice was talking about a completely different door altogether. He thought the voice was talking about the door that led him to where he was standing. There was suddenly a flash of light and instinctively threw up his arm to block it out. When it dimmed, he found himself surrounded by darkness again and standing on a fourth platform with a picture.

In the center of the picture was a pretty woman with long blonde hair, wearing a long pink dress. She was asleep and surrounded by a multitude of vines, all with thorns on them, almost like the vines were holding her captive. Daisuke felt a shiver go through his body upon seeing that, but quickly shook off the feeling. A beam of light appeared from nowhere, shining on the girl's face, and Daisuke immediately went over to investigate it. As soon as he stepped into the beam, he was surrounded by a large group of small black creatures, larger than the first group.

His sword reappeared and he immediately started slashing at the creatures. The first one went down with two strokes, since Daisuke managed to slice it cleanly in half, but the others didn't go down so easily. They bunched into a tighter circle around Daisuke, preparing for a group attack. He slashed at the ones directly in front of him and eliminated most of them with a couple of swings. He spun around to confront the rest and promptly got a faceful of blackness, as one of the creatures had decided to attach itself to his head. He flailed around blindly for a few seconds, during which that time he managed to take out a few more creatures, until he got the one off his face and disposed of that as well. Two more well placed swings destroyed that one and the rest.

It was then he realized that the beam of light had moved. Instead of shining on the woman's face, it had relocated to her skirt and at the end of it was a small circle that looked like it was made of white fire. Daisuke warily approached it, kneeled down, and reached out to touch the fiery substance, expecting to get burnt. Nothing happened, so he stepped into it.

He stood there for a couple seconds, looking around and wondering if the voice was going to tell him what to do, when the light moved yet _again_. It slid to the edge of the platform and kept going, creating a staircase that went upwards and outwards into the darkness. The stairs looked like they were made of stained glass. He shrugged and stepped away from the circle of fire and slowly began navigating the very curvy staircase, being extremely careful not to misstep and fall into the darkness below.

At the end of the stairs was another platform with a woman on it, this time a brown-haired girl in a yellow dress. Around her were pictures, like a tea set and various household items like a clock. Behind the girl was a large furry beast. There was also a beam of light in the center, which Daisuke walked over to. It had become routine—whenever he found the beam of light, he usually had to do something that allowed him to get off whatever platform he was on. For some reason, he found himself almost magnetically attracted to the light, like it was the only safe thing in the entire area. Upon entering the light, the mysterious voice made itself known.

_The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes._

That was a confusing statement, and Daisuke wasn't sure whether it was being literal or just cryptic. He looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, there his shadow was, but it was longer than he had remembered it being. It stretched from his shoes all the way to the other edge of the platform. Confused, Daisuke turned around. His shadow did the same and Daisuke's eyes widened. They got even bigger as the shadow bulged and began to change shape, growing bigger and detaching itself from the floor. It widened and stretched upward until it towered over Daisuke while its hair grew out into dreadlocks and its fingers stretched and formed claws.

_But don't be afraid._

The voice was trying to help, but it wasn't working. Daisuke tried to back up, but tripped over his feet and fell down. The shadow looked nothing like him now. It was enormous, with huge hands, no feet, and bright yellow eyes. There was a huge heart-shaped hole in the thing's body. Daisuke got to his feet, stumbling slightly, and ran. In his fear, he had forgotten that the platform wasn't endless and soon found himself at the edge. He gasped, and nearly fell, but managed to right himself and turn to face the shadow.

"I…guess I have to fight…" he told himself, gripping his sword with both hands. He took a deep breath and dashed at the closest target, the shadow's large hand, and swung at it. The shadow didn't even flinch, but Daisuke kept whacking it until it raised the hand. The appendage went high into the air before slamming down, sending tremors across the entire platform and creating a large black patch on the floor. From the patch, a group of smaller black shadows came out, but Daisuke wasn't interested in them. He headed straight for the hand, ignoring the claws that came at his bare arms and legs and focusing all his power on that one hand.

Even when the arm moved backwards, Daisuke followed it, only pausing for a second when the giant pulled out a new method of attack. It leaned back and a ball of purple energy gathered in the heart-shaped hole in its body. Daisuke stared at the ball, and suddenly it shattered into smaller balls, and all seemed intent to home in on him. He halted his assault on the hand and ran from the energy balls, dodging small shadows, until the balls seemed to disintegrate.

The shadow started to lift its arm into the air, preparing to slam it into the floor again, and Daisuke got an idea. He remembered being told by one of his friends a long time ago that the weakest part of anybody's body was the head, and the best way he could think of to get to the giant's head was by riding the arm up. He latched himself onto the large wrist and at the height of the arm's movement, slipped off and landed on the shadow's shoulder.

"Surprise!" Daisuke yelled, whacking the giant in the side of the head. It finally noticed him and turned its head, only to be sliced across the face multiple times. Daisuke was beginning to get tired, but he kept up his barrage of attacks until the shadow collapsed. Daisuke was thrown forward and landed painfully on his knees. He stood up, preparing to fight more in case the giant wasn't down for good, but then his sword disappeared in a flash of light. Had the creature somehow disarmed him?

The shadow slammed both its hands into the floor, knocking Daisuke down. He looked down and was horrified to see a black circle, the very same that the black creatures kept coming out of. He started to get up, to run away, but just then he felt something cold on his arms and legs. He looked down again to see black vine-like tendrils curling their way around him, holding him in place.

_But don't be afraid._

The tendrils continued to wrap around him, and a lot of them emitted smoke. The large shadow was still there, just staring at Daisuke as if daring him to try to do anything. That is, until it rose up to its full height. By now, the tendrils had all but covered Daisuke, who had stretched an uncovered arm out to grab something. Then, that arm too was lassoed by the vines.

_You hold the mightiest weapon of all_.

The voice sounded fainter, further away. Daisuke was nearly enveloped in blackness now, and it was starting to pull him down. He felt like he was going to burst into tears, or scream, but he couldn't. He didn't want to die. He was confused, scared, and angry. He wasn't going to die by the darkness. The giant leaned over and the last couple tendrils curled around Daisuke's face and pulled him under.

_You are the one... who will open the door._


	3. Island Paradise

Whee! Chapter 3! (Hey, it rhymes. Hehe.) Anyway, sorry for not updating sooner, but I had writer's block and I kinda lost interest in the story for a while. By the way, what's with the "review responses aren't allowed in the story" thing? I think the review reply thing is silly. But that's off the subject…

Disclaimer: DN Angel belongs to Yukiru Sugisaki, the plot of Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix, and the various Disney characters belong to Disney. I only own DN Angel DVDs and a copy of Kingdom Hearts.

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Bright sunlight was the first thing that greeted Daisuke when he opened his eyes. He raised his head and peered at the mostly cloudless sky.

_Mm…am I still dreaming?_

He felt the warmth of the sun and smelled the salt from the sea, and decided that this time it was much too real to be a dream. He closed his eyes and leaned his head backwards when he found himself in shade, which confused him. He opened his eyes just in time to see a face framed in blue hair appear in the air above him.

"Huh!"

He rolled over onto his stomach and scrambled into a seated position, facing the owner of the face. The boy standing there was clothed in a white t-shirt, maroon shorts, and black sandals. He raised an eyebrow at Daisuke, who responded by throwing a handful of sand at him.

"Satoshi, don't scare me like that!"

"It's your own fault. You fell asleep again," the bluenette replied

"I did?" Daisuke looked somewhat confused, but then he remembered the dream. "Oh yeah, there was this…black _thing_…and it tried to kill me. I was surrounded by black stuff, and I couldn't breath or see anything…ow!" Daisuke yelped again; he had just sat on a pointed shell, which he picked up and threw into the ocean.

Satoshi's eyes followed the path of the shell until it hit the water and disappeared below. "Are you sure you weren't just dreaming?"

"No! I don't know!" It seemed real to him, but he had decided earlier that it was just a dream, and decided to stick with that though. Just a dream, a nightmare, nothing more. He looked back at Satoshi, but the boy had moved to stand closer to the water, still staring out at the endless expanse of water.

"Satoshi," Daisuke said suddenly, "do you remember anything about your hometown? I mean, you grew up there before coming here." He leaned back into a more comfortable position.

"I don't remember anything."

"Nothing? You don't remember your parents, or your friends, or anything else?" Daisuke asked, surprised.

"I've told you before, I don't remember anything."

Daisuke shifted his gaze to the sand and began tracing patterns in it. "If you could, would you go back?"

"I don't know. I'm fine where I am." Satoshi replied, turning around.

"You are?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'd like to see it. We could both go. There's got to be other places we could visit, too, out there." Daisuke smiled, and he thought that Satoshi managed a faint smile as well, although he couldn't be entirely sure.

"Are you two gonna leave without me?" a voice asked.

Daisuke tilted his head back and Satoshi simply looked over Daisuke's head. From Daisuke's point of view, he could see a boy with messy purple hair and matching eyes. He was fifteen, a year older than Daisuke and Satoshi, and had a log underneath one arm. Daisuke had known Dark since he was four, and the two were like brothers.

"So," Dark continued, running his free hand through his hair, and messing it up even more, "I'm stuck working on the raft alone while you two are lazing around down here." He walked over until he was standing directly over Daisuke and dropped the log onto the redhead's stomach. Daisuke tried to catch it and failed miserably. Dark laughed and Satoshi smacked him in the back of the head.

"Satoshi! What was that for? You're just as lazy as he is!" Dark pointed accusingly at Satoshi, who kept a blank face.

"I know for a fact that you've been spying on Riku for most of the day."

At that statement, Dark flinched slightly, and Daisuke, who had seated himself on top of the log Dark had been carrying, snickered. Dark made a face at Daisuke and threw himself into the sand, looking for all the world like he was completely exhausted.

"Hey Dark, wanna race? I bet I can beat you to the other end of the island," Daisuke challenged the violet-haired boy. He knew that Dark could never resist a challenge, especially if it involved Daisuke. This didn't seem to be the case today, though.

"Are you joking, Daisuke? I'm too tired."

"Ready…go," Satoshi said offhandedly, unofficially starting the race. Dark looked at Satoshi, exchanged a glance with Daisuke, and then the two racers leapt to their feet and started running as fast as they could towards the opposite end of the island. Satoshi brought up the rear of the "race", going at a much slower pace, as he wasn't really actually participating. The other two were neck in neck, and as they neared the end, they both sped up. Daisuke's dream was completely forgotten.

_Later…_

"Daisuke, are you listening to me?"

Daisuke's gaze snapped instantly back to his friend's face. He had been staring off somewhere behind and slightly to the left of Satoshi.

"Yeah! Yeah…I'm sorry. Supplies, right?"

"Yeah. I need you to find two logs, one cloth, and a length of rope. Bring them back here, okay?"

Daisuke nodded and hurried away, only to trip and fall on his face not even twenty feet away from Satoshi, landing face first in the sand and inhaling a mouthful. Coughing and sputtering, he turned to the object that had attacked his ankle, only to discover a partially buried log. In fact, it looked like it had been buried on purpose, rather than accidentally. He certainly didn't remember seeing it earlier. Oh well, he needed the log. He picked it up and set it by the nearby shack so he would remember its location later, and looked around.

He knew the island by the back of his hand, and thus knew exactly where he would be able to find all the materials he needed. The closest one was on the small island not far from the shack, but that was the area that Dark had claimed as his own. In other words, if anyone was found on the small bit of land, he or she would be attacked, forced to complete some bizarre quest per Dark's request to avoid emotional or physical punishment, or challenged to a duel for temporary passage rights. Needless to say, it was a low-traffic area.

Daisuke waded out into the water and around the island to the ladder built into the side. He quickly climbed up and peered over the edge. There, lying mere feet away, was the log Dark had been carrying earlier, but the purple-haired boy was nowhere to be found. Not waiting for him to return, Daisuke scrambled onto the island, scooped up the log, and darted across the bridge leading to the island. In the middle, he jumped off and collected the log he had set by the shack.

Two items down, two to go.

Daisuke turned his attention to the treehouse this time and started making his way over there.

"Daisuke, watch out!" a female voice suddenly shouted. Daisuke turned towards the source of the voice just as something blue whizzed past his head. He spun around and found the boy from his dream standing behind him, shrugging and grinning apologetically.

"That was a close one, ya?"

"Wakka, you should watch where you're aiming! You could have hit Daisuke in the head."

Both boys turned their attention to the girl below. It was one of the girls from the dream, a long-haired one named Risa. She was holding Wakka's ball, and looking pretty angry. As it turned out, she was, as she demonstrated by throwing the ball back at Wakka at an unexpected speed. The boy just barely managed to catch it without falling over.

"Risa, lighten up, ya?" Wakka grinned and turned to Daisuke. "Up for a match today?"

"Okay, but just a quick one." Daisuke replied.

Daisuke and Wakka took their positions on the empty stretch of beach below, Daisuke with his wooden sword propped on his shoulder, and Wakka with his ball tucked under his arm.

"You first!" Daisuke shouted.

As if he were waiting for those words, Wakka leaned back and threw the ball at Daisuke, aiming for his chest. Daisuke sidestepped and the ball bounced away behind him, making Wakka chase after it so that he could attack again. Daisuke waited until Wakka had retrieved his "weapon" and prepared for another throw. This time, the throw was aimed for his head, so when it was nearly there, he brought the sword up and swung at the ball. It flew back through the air to Wakka, who didn't quite dodge in time and received the blow directly in the stomach. He doubled over, apparently winded, so Daisuke went over to him.

"Are you okay?"

Just as Daisuke got within 3 feet of Wakka, the boy straightened up and threw the ball at Daisuke again. This time, he wasn't able to dodge and got the hit full force in the chest. Daisuke stumbled backwards and Wakka retrieved his ball. He threw it again, but Daisuke managed to bat away the throw, a bit harder than anticipated, and the ball hit home again, this time Wakka's head. Unfortunately, this only made him disoriented and dizzy, and he began throwing the ball randomly and at shorter intervals. At one point, Daisuke managed to catch the ball and lob it at Wakka's feet, causing him to trip over it.

"Aw, man, that _hurt_!" Wakka grinned dizzily as Daisuke helped him up. "It was a good match, ya?"

"Um, yeah, good match." Daisuke jumped onto the raised rock section of the island, the part underneath the treehouse. To get to the treehouse, he still had to climb a long ladder. The treehouse really consisted of a hollowed-out tree and a deck that was built over the water. The deck wrapped partway around the treehouse and stopped at the ladder. Daisuke got to the top of the ladder and walked down the short walkway, onto the deck.

Then it hit him.

He had stood in that exact spot before, in his dream, surrounded by his friends. No, those weren't his friends; they were too…unlifelike to be the people he knew. He shook his head, pushing the memory out of his mind, and walked into the treehouse. He had expected a white sheet to be in there, but what he didn't expect was for the sheet to be thrown over his head.

"H-Hey!"

"Daisuke?"

His vision suddenly cleared and he found himself face-to-face with Risa again, who looked extremely disappointed. Daisuke blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. He always felt extremely nervous around Risa.

"I'm sorry, Daisuke, I thought you were someone else," Risa apologized.

"It…it's okay. Can I have that cloth, though?" he asked, holding out his hand. "Satoshi's orders."

"Well…okay." She handed him the sheet and he quickly went back outside, where he spotted the rope in a corner of the deck, grabbed it, and got down. On the way back to Satoshi, he spotted the third person from his dream, a short-haired girl, sitting on the end of the boat dock.

"Hey, Riku," he greeted, approaching her fairly noisily from behind.

"Oh! Daisuke, you scared me! I haven't seen you for a while."

"I've been busy." He held out the sheet and rope to demonstrate his point.

"What are you guys planning, anyway?" Riku asked, turning around. Daisuke was at a loss for words. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone else about the project, but Riku had fixed him with an unblinking stare that made even Dark, who exuded self-confidence and could think of a response for just about everything, falter.

"I…I…can't tell you. It's top secret!" Daisuke backed up and hurried away as fast as he could.

"Hey, no fair Daisuke!"

"Satoshi, I've got the stuff you wanted," Daisuke panted as he dropped the materials in a heap in front of the boy.

"Great. Everything's here. Thanks Daisuke." He reached into a pocket of his shorts and produced a small bottle of green liquid. "Here, I found this earlier. It may be of more use to you than it is to me." He pressed it into Daisuke's hands, and the redhead pocketed it.

"Satoshi, have you seen Dark?"

_A couple hours later_

Satoshi, Dark, and Daisuke were hanging out on the small separate island, watching the sunset and each was mostly lost in his thoughts. Daisuke was lying on the trunk of the bent tree with his arms over his face, Satoshi was leaning against the tree near Daisuke's shoulders, and Dark was leaning against a nearby palm tree. Daisuke lifted his arms from his face.

"Um, Satoshi's home is somewhere out there? Right?"

"How should I know?" Dark asked, staring at the sunset, away from his friends. "We aren't going to find out just by asking questions."

"But…how far can a raft take us?" Daisuke asked again, turning his head to look at Dark.

"I don't know. Why are you asking so many questions, anyway?"

Daisuke frowned and mumbled something that sounded like "what a jerk" and rolled over, away from Dark. Unfortunately, he misjudged the trunk's width and ended up on the ground with a loud thud.

"Dark," Satoshi said, ignoring Daisuke, who was climbing back onto the tree, "suppose we did reach another world. What would you do there?"

Dark turned around. "I haven't really thought about it. "I've always wondered why we're here, on _this_ island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on _this_ one?" At each "this", Dark waved his hand at the main part of the island.

"And, suppose there are other worlds… Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So, we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?" Dark turned his gaze to Daisuke, who shrugged.

"And that's why we should go find out. Sitting her and asking "why" won't get anything accomplished." Dark turned slightly, so that the pinks and oranges from the sunset were reflected in his eyes, giving him a slightly evil look. "Let's go."

In response to this, Daisuke rolled over again, this time onto his back, and stared up at the darkening sky. To tell the truth, he had never really understood what Dark was talking about a lot of the time. He was pretty content to live on the islands, but Dark always wanted to get away. He wasn't content with the small stuff. He wanted bigger, better, more interesting.

"You seem to be thinking a lot lately," Satoshi said. "That's unusual for you."

"Shut up! If you hadn't come here, I would never have considered leaving!" Dark shouted back, looking like he was about to pounce on Satoshi, who managed a half-smile. He brushed by Dark, patting him on the shoulder as he went by, and headed down the wooden bridge to go home. Daisuke jumped down from the tree and made to follow him.

"Hey, Daisuke!"

Daisuke halted, skidding slightly on the wooden planks. He turned around just in time to catch a yellow, star shaped fruit, apparently recently picked, as it still had the stem attached.

"A paopu…"

Dark crossed his arms and grinned. "You _did_ want one, didn't you?"

"I did?" He never remembered asking for one. Dark had started walking down the bridge as well, but stopped level with Daisuke.

"If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives, no matter what."

Daisuke stared the fruit. That _was_ a good reason to have one, but who would he share it with? He knew Dark would probably share one with Riku. Maybe he could give it to…nah, that wouldn't work.

"C'mon Daisuke, I know you want to try it! You could give it to Satoshi!"

"Daaaaarrrk!" Daisuke's face turned a nice shade of red, and Dark, who was standing at the end of the bridge, burst out laughing and ran off. Daisuke gave chase, tossing the fruit over his shoulder in the process.

_If two people share one…_

"Dark, that wasn't funny!"

_Their destinies become intertwined._

"Ahh! Daisuke, get off of me!"

_They'll remain a part of each other's lives…_

"Satoshi! Help me, please!"

_No matter what.

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_


	4. Power of the Paopu

Before I start this next chapter, I'd like to apologize to everyone who's been reading this, especially my awesome beta reader, who has been bugging me endlessly to work on this story (and I thank her), for the very late update. I kinda lost interest in this story, but after watching a few DN Angel DVDs and playing KH a bit, my desire to work on it returned.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own DN Angel or Kingdom Hearts. Don't sue me, I don't have money either.

Now, without further babbling, I present you with another chapter of _Hearts_.

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_Disney Castle_

It was a beautiful castle. It was also immense, covering a large area on the ground and stretching up towards the clouds with its many towers, as if trying to puncture them with the blue-hued points. The castle was made entirely of white stones, and appeared to glow in the sunlight, and there was a slight breeze, as indicated by the small orange pennants at the top of each tower fluttering. Inside, sunlight spilled through the numerous windows, landing on the stone floors and red carpet that stretched the length of the long hallway. This particular hallway happened to be the hallway that led to the throne room.

A figure was walking down the hallway at that moment. He was the court wizard, indicated by his attire—a purple, slightly crooked pointed hat similar to the ones usually worn by witches in children's drawings, a matching purple long-sleeved coat with gold buttons on the chest, and a dark blue belt around his waist. Over the coat was a dark blue vest with a pair of zippers leading from the neck—but this particular court wizard was actually a small, white duck.

He nodded and chuckled as a trio of brooms marched past him in the opposite direction, in search of their next cleaning assignment. He smiled as their shuffling footsteps got fainter and fainter, before he abruptly stopped and turned to his right. There, in front of him, was a giant set of purple double doors. The doors were enormous; the topmost part of the gold arch framing the doors nearly reached the high vaulted ceiling. It seemed impossible for the small wizard to open the doors by himself.

The duck cleared his throat, lifting a white fist towards his beak, before using the same fist to knock a couple times on the base of one of the doors. It wasn't a random series of knocks, though; it sounded like a tune, like a code or password of some sort. He dropped his hand as the doors emitted a clicking sound, and a tiny section of the giant doors opened to allow passage inside.

The throne room was vast, easily able to fit hundreds or maybe even thousands of guests at one time, but at that moment it was completely empty. A red carpet similar to the one in the hall outside stretched from the doors to the throne, and a matching tapestry outlined in gold hung behind the throne. The tapestry had three circles on it, a crest of sorts.

The wizard made his way down the carpet towards the throne, stopping briefly halfway to bow in greeting.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," he called out, before moving again. He stopped again in front of the throne and bowed again.

"It's nice to see you this morn—what!"

He had just raised his head, expecting to see the king he had come to see, but instead, he saw nothing. He froze, but silently panicked. What should he do? What would he tell the others? What would he tell the _queen_? In his panicked state, he didn't even notice the king's dog creep out from behind the throne, holding something in his mouth. It took him a moment, but then he noticed the dog.

"What are you holding, there, Pluto?" the duck asked, taking the object from Pluto's mouth.

It was an envelope, one that had the three-circle crest. The wizard opened the envelope and pulled out and unfolded the letter that was inside. There were a few moments of silence as he read the letter, then lowered it, blinking a few times.

A few seconds later, he burst out of the throne room, screaming and waving his arms like a madman, or in this case, a mad duck. He had to find the captain of the guard, the only one that he trusted with the news at that moment.

The guard captain in question was asleep at the moment in front of his own castle. Actually, it wasn't a castle, but a bush trimmed into the shape of the castle it was located inside. The bush castle was the focal point of the castle garden, surrounded by many different colors of flowers as well as other bush sculptures.

The guard captain himself was dressed entirely in armor, with the exception of his helmet, which was perched on top of his head. He had a doggie face, and his mouth was wide open and soft snores issued from it periodically. His arms were folded behind his head like a pillow, and one leg was stretched out in front of him while the other one was propped on the knee of the outstretched one.

The court wizard came running into the garden, still waving his arms and screaming, zigzagging his way to the captain, and nearly tripping over him before he managed to regain his balance.

"Wake up, Goofy! Wake _up_!" He yelled, jumping around hysterically. "This is _serious_!"

Goofy responded by moaning in his sleep, smiling, and letting out a long breath in the wizard's face. The wizard bristled and huffed angrily. Then, his gaze fixed on the sleeping captain, he pointed a finger skyward, yelled, and released a bolt of lightning from the sky onto Goofy. Getting electrocuted apparently was enough to wake him, and he jumped in surprise and pain.

Goofy landed with a series of loud clangs, and rubbed his eyes with one hand, attempting to clear his vision. As it cleared, he recognized the face of his friend.

"Hey there, Donald," he greeted, waving. "G'morning."

Donald ignored the greeting. "We've got a problem, Goofy!" He waved his arms again. Suddenly, he stopped and glanced quickly left and right, making sure there was no one else around. "But don't tell anyone…" he said in a much softer voice.

"Queen Minnie?" Goofy asked, eyes wide.

"Not even the queen!" Donald said, hands on hips.

Goofy shifted his gaze, but Donald didn't notice. "Daisy?"

Donald shook his head frantically. "NO! It's top secret!"

By now, Goofy wasn't even looking at Donald anymore. "G'morning, ladies," he said, waving to someone behind Donald. Donald froze.

"Wh-What?"

He slowly turned around, afraid of what he was going to see there. His fears were confirmed, however, when his gaze fell upon the aforementioned ladies, standing side by side underneath a bush sculpted into the shape of an arch. Donald gulped and laughed nervously as Daisy narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips. Minnie tilted her head to the side in confusion.

It was another beautiful day on Destiny Islands. There were very few clouds, and it wasn't too hot. This was the very definition of paradise, which is what the islands were, as described by both adults and children alike.

There was a dull _thunk_ as the side of the wooden boat hit one of the dock's support pillars. Daisuke climbed up onto the dock and stood to face the island, stretching to get the stiffness out of his arms.

"Daisuke!"

Daisuke opened his eyes and dropped his hands upon hearing a panicked voice call his name. A figure was running across the sand towards him; it was Risa. She looked worried and when she reached the dock, she was short of breath, apparently from running.

"Risa? What's wrong?" Daisuke asked when Risa approached him.

"It's Dark! I can't find him anywhere!" she cried, adopting a look of complete helplessness.

"I—I don't know where he is," Daisuke replied, stumbling over his words slightly. He really didn't know, and it wasn't helping that Risa was making him very nervous by standing so close to him.

"Oh. I really want to talk to him." Risa turned away from Daisuke slightly, sighing in slight disappointment. Then her eyes lit up. "Hey, have you ever heard of the legend of the paopu fruit?" She paused, then continued with a faraway look in her eyes. "They say if you share it with the one you love, you stay with them _forever_! Isn't that great? I would love to share a paopu with Dark." She sighed and Daisuke could've sworn his heart stopped for a moment.

"Um…t-that's nice, Risa. I hope that works out for you." Daisuke backed up and walked as quickly as he could away from Risa. He decided not to dwell on the conversation, since he was supposed to meet Dark and Satoshi so they could finish the raft. There was a door that led to the other side of the island, the one that Satoshi had been "guarding" the day before. Daisuke opened the door, which was unguarded, and went through it.

The other half of the island was much smaller and divided into two sections. The circular part Daisuke was standing on was made of stone and rose about four feet from the surrounding sand, with boards of varying lengths nailed upright around it. Leading from the raised area was a series of platforms that had once been a bridge before some of the planks rotted and fell down. Daisuke knew that one part of the bridge had a trapdoor-like section that was very dangerous unless one knew it was there and knew to jump over it.

The second section began where the bridge ended, and was separated from the first section by a long rectangular plateau, mostly covered by moss and flowering plants, with a set of stairs carved into the far right side. Right beside the stairs was the most noticeable part of that half of the island—a tall wooden tower with a ladder. To the far left was a small cave.

Daisuke trudged through the shallow water, making his way around the rectangle plateau and arriving at the "boat ruins". True to its name, there were bits and pieces of boats that had crashed along the shore. Beyond the ruins, there was a small grove of palm trees, and perched on a shelf high above the grove was a small tree with and enormous star ornament stuck onto it. A ramp on the right led up to the wall that divided the island and there were moss-covered shelves jutting out of it.

The raft was sitting near the shore, more or less completely assembled. The logs that made up the bottom were securely bound to one another and the cloth that Daisuke had found the day prior was attached to the mast as a sail. At the base of the mast, Satoshi was sitting cross-legged, reading a book.

"Hi, Satoshi!" Daisuke greeted his friend, jogging over to the raft. Satoshi peered up at the redhead; the action caused his glasses, which had slipped down his nose, to get pushed back up.

"You're late Daisuke. I wasn't sure you'd even be here." Satoshi replied, a faint smile creeping onto his face. "We're almost ready to go. We just need food."

"You mean Dark hasn't already come and done it?"

Satoshi's face resumed its normal expressionless look. "No. Actually, I haven't seen him at all today."

"That's strange," Daisuke muttered, looking towards the door he had come through earlier, having heard it open and close. Even Satoshi, who had turned back to his book, looked up just in time to see Riku appear next to the wooden tower. At her appearance, Satoshi merely waved, but Daisuke ran up to her and opened his mouth to say hi, but Riku beat him.

"Daisuke, what did you say to Risa? She's going berserk, going on about Dark and paopu fruits and she's driving me nuts!"

"Did someone call me?"

Dark appeared behind Riku as if he had appeared out of thin air, grinning. He sidled up to her and slid his arm around her shoulders and draped it there, causing the girl to twitch slightly. Then he looked down and saw Daisuke and feigned shock.

"Daisuke! Nice to see you here! Ready for a rematch already?" he teased, ignoring Riku's death glare, a look that probably would have killed him had he been paying attention to it. Daisuke rubbed the back of his head. He had lost the race the day before, but he blamed it on Dark's legs being longer.

"Yeah…Yeah I am!"

Riku had had enough. "Dark, I'd prefer it if you would _keep your hands to yourself!_" She told him, shoving his arm off her shoulder and moving away. "Pervert."

In response, Dark made the saddest, most pathetic face he could think of, but Riku did nothing. Defeated, Dark turned to Daisuke, who had climbed up to stand in front of him.

"I was thinking earlier, that we need a name for our raft." The older boy paused for a moment. "And a captain, of course, but for a name I was thinking Kokuyoku. What about you?"

"Umm…well…Menou sounds like a good name to me."

"I think it sounds stupid."

"That's mean!"

"Will you guys get over there, already?" Riku commanded, ending the insult round. Both boys immediately ceased the conversation and made their way over to the circular plateau.

"The goal of the race is to reach the tree with the star and make it back here first. Take any route you want, but don't kill each other. On your marks…"

"If I win, I get to name the raft and I'm captain. If you win…" Daisuke started, but Dark interrupted him.

"Winner gets to share a paopu with whoever they want." Dark stated matter-of-factly.

"What?" Daisuke nearly fell over. Those weren't the conditions they just agreed on! Sure, it was a good deal, but if Daisuke lost…

"Three!"

Well, he couldn't back out now.

"Two!"

Daisuke got into a running position as Dark did the same beside him.

"One!"

Daisuke shook his head to clear it. He had to focus on the race.

"Go!"

Immediately, Dark ran for the bridge, but Daisuke had a different plan. Instead, he jumped off the plateau and splashed through the shallow water below. Above him, Dark's feet thudded against the wood, pausing slightly when their owner stepped on the trapdoor section of the bridge, causing it to swing downwards. Unfortunately, the violet-haired teenager managed to avoid falling and continued.

Daisuke knew he was heading for the tower as he always did, to use the zipline. He reached the beach on the other side and focused on the incline that led to the wall. He passed Satoshi and the raft as he went, nearly tripping over one of the logs, but not falling. He went up the incline and across the mossy shelves to the star tree. He extended his arm to touch it and saw another one do the same. Daisuke was confused. How had Dark reached the tree so quickly?

Dark and Daisuke looked at each other for a second completely frozen, until both of them grinned and leapt off the shelf to the sand below. A quick but furious shoving match ensued, until Daisuke managed to get away and sprint towards the finish line. Upon reaching the water, he was only a few feet in front of Dark, but he managed to get through the water and climb onto the platform. Riku declared him the winner, and he relayed the fact to a panting Dark a few seconds later.

"Ha! I won! Now we're even!" he rejoiced, pumping the air with his fist. Dark glared at him.

"Sheesh, settled down, Daisuke. It's only a name."

That statement warranted another shocked look. He had changed the conditions again! Daisuke screwed his face up and went to Satoshi, which turned out to be a good idea, as Risa burst through the door ten seconds later, saw Dark, and promptly latched onto him. Satoshi was standing beside the raft when Daisuke approached him.

"Today we're supposed to collect provisions," Satoshi stated. "I would ask Dark to do it, but he seems…incapacitated." A faint smile appeared on his face again. "We need two coconuts, three mushrooms, three fish, a seagull egg, and," he pushed a bottle into Daisuke's hands, "drinking water. Fresh water, though, not from the ocean."

Daisuke went off to find the mushrooms first, since they were the toughest to find. They were large brown mushrooms that usually grew fairly far apart, but they were hard to find unless you were really looking for them. Luckily, Daisuke knew enough about the island that he knew where they were likely to grow. As it happened, there was one close by, growing near the entrance to a small cave with a large boulder sitting in front of it, just a little ways away from the raft. Daisuke carefully picked it before hoisting himself onto the plateau in front of him. He walked slowly towards the bridge, like he was going to go across it, but turned left instead of right, to face a large section of heavy vegetation. There, nearly hidden by crisscrossing vines, was a second mushroom. Two down, one to go.

Daisuke didn't think that any more mushrooms grew in that area, so he wandered, or rather made his way carefully, over to the door that lead to the other side of the island, remembering to jump the trapdoor on the bridge. He paused to smirk at Risa, who was tugging on Dark's arm, trying desperately to get him to come with her. Dark had his feet planted firmly on the ground and had grabbed a thick vine hanging from the wall to keep him anchored.

"Daisuke, help me!"

Dark got the sound of a door creaking closed as his answer.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Daisuke was halfway up the beach when he was suddenly waylaid by something tall and yellow. For a split second, he thought it was a large banana, until the "banana" started talking.

"Good morning, Daisuke." Wakka greeted cheerfully, passing his blue ball from hand to hand. Daisuke vaguely wondered what would happen if he stole the ball, but decided not to.

"'Morning Wakka. What are you doing over here?" Daisuke asked, gesturing to the corner where the shack met the raised portion of the land, where Wakka had been standing before Daisuke came over. Behind the yellow-clad boy was a waterfall that poured clear water into a pool below, the island's main source of fresh water.

"Waitin' for Satoshi. Me an' him, we're gonna do some exploring today. In the secret place. There's gotta be something in there, ya?" Wakka replied, apparently excited. He pointed to the other side of the pool, where there was a patch of shadow with a "door" of vines covering it.

"Oh. I was just about to go in there. Do you mind?"

"No problem, man. Just don't get lost, ya?" Wakka laughed, retrieved his ball from under his arm, and started spinning it on his finger. Daisuke walked past him and up the nearby ramp, towards the secret place.

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Yay for two-part chapters! By the way, I'm not entirely sure that I got Wakka down right. Hmm... 


	5. Setting Sail

Author's note: Hi! I'd like to apologize to anyone who's still reading this about the long wait. I got a major writing block when it came to this story, and it only cleared up just recently. I'd also like to point out that Daisuke may be a little out-of-character. I played the What Would Daisuke Do In This Situation game for about half an hour before I decided to just make him act a bit like Sora. So, it's Daisuke and Sora smushed together. :shrug: Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Read my profile. D

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The "secret place," as most of the children that frequented the island called it, wasn't actually all that secret. It was a tunnel, tucked into a corner behind a big tree, its entrance partially hidden by vines that acted as a door of sorts. Further inside, the tunnel opened up into a large cavern. The walls were made of large rocks piled on top of one another and were far from smooth, and the large, twisted roots of the nearby trees wandered across the rock surfaces in some areas. The dirt floor was well-packed, showing that the cavern was visited often.

A couple years prior, before anyone had entered the cave, Daisuke and Dark decided to explore it, going off a rumor that some sort of monster lived in the cave. They were the only ones brave enough to explore it, and when they discovered that no such monster existed, they decided to claim the cave for themselves. After they claimed the cave, they began drawing on the walls. First, Satoshi was the only one to do it, often sitting by himself in the cavern for hours at a time, sketching seemingly random and disconnected pictures on the walls. Then Daisuke could be found in there as well, adding his own touch to Satoshi's drawings and creating some of his own.

Daisuke strolled through the cave, taking a bit of time to get used to the colder air and looking at the drawings. There were sketches of people, a handful of large monster-looking creatures, and even what looked like a large chicken. Dark had drawn that after a dream he had that had giant birds that people could ride from place to place, like horses.

However, the most interesting part of the cave was the door way in the back. It had been there for as long as any of the three boys knew, but no one knew what was on the other side of it, as it had no handle and pushing on it did nothing. It was a beautiful door—smooth unmarked wood with a gold frame—and it never seemed to show any natural wear or tear. It looked exactly the same, year after year. After a few seconds of staring at the mysterious door, Daisuke tore his gaze away, having spotted what he was looking for—a large mushroom growing a few feet to the right of the door. He knelt down to pick it up and paused again.

There, in front of him, was his favorite drawing in the entire cave. Two heads, one with spiky hair and the other with hair that hung down. Daisuke had drawn Satoshi and Satoshi had drawn Daisuke. Daisuke personally thought that Satoshi was a much better artist. He picked up a rock from the dirt floor, placed it on the wall, and started sketching a new part of the picture. Bits of rock crumbled to the floor as he worked, collecting on the floor.

Just then, Daisuke heard footsteps behind him. He quickly abandoned his drawing and scrambled to his feet, hastily but carefully stuffing the mushrooms into a pocket.

"Wh-Who's there?" he asked, trying to peer into the dark corner.

"I've come to see the door to this world." A deep voice answered.

The owner of the voice took a step forward, and Daisuke could finally see him properly. Or rather, he could see that the person was clothed head to toe in a hooded brown coat. The hood was up and was deep enough that Daisuke couldn't make out the person's face. It made him more than slightly nervous. Was the cloaked person here to see the door in the cave? Daisuke wanted to ask, but he could only get one word out.

"Huh?"

"This world has been connected," the cloaked figure continued, as if reciting a speech.

"Connected? To what?"

"Tied to the darkness...soon to be completely eclipsed," the figure continued, oddly answering Daisuke's question and confusing him more.

"Stop freaking me out!" Daisuke nearly yelled in frustration, his fists clenched. It was then that he realized that he hadn't heard the person come in. "Wh-Where did you come from?"

"You do not yet know what lies beyond the door."

Daisuke's eyes widened. Of course he didn't know what was behind it, no one did. Maybe the cloaked person was from beyond the door, or maybe from another world!

"You're not from _here_, are you?" he asked.

"There is so very much to learn. Youunderstand _so little_."

"I understand enough! I'll go out and _learn_ what's out there!"

"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing."

Daisuke frowned and stared down at his shoes, thinking of the cloaked figure's words. He understood plenty, but nothing outside of the islands he called home. Was that what the person meant? That made Daisuke more eager to leave, but at the same time, he had the feeling leaving wasn't such a good idea. When he looked back up, the person was gone.

"Daisuke, I caught it! Quick, get over here!"

Daisuke ran as fast as he could through the shallow water to where Riku was struggling to keep ahold of a live fish. Daisuke scooped the fish into a cloth bag, taking care not to let the other two fish escape, and pulled it out of the water. So far, he had gotten most of the items Satoshi had requested—the mushrooms had all been picked, he filled the bottle with fresh water, gathered the coconuts, and even managed to get a seagull egg successfully. Gathering the coconuts proved to be the hardest, as the fruits were tough to get by climbing the trees, so shaking or hitting them was necessary. Wakka had a good laugh watching the redhead as he shook the trees and then ran out of the way to avoid getting hit by the fruit. Once, Daisuke tripped over a coconut he had already knocked down and nearly fell into the water below, but he managed to grab onto the ledge at the last minute.

Daisuke beamed at Riku as he waded back to the shore where he had left the rest of the items.

"Thanks, Riku!"

Riku splashed up beside him, squeezing out her shorts where they had gotten wet and brushing small droplets off of her t-shirt.

"Why are you gathering all this stuff, Daisuke? Are you going somewhere?"

Daisuke's heart skipped a bit. "Ah…ah, no, not really. I'm just…Satoshi wanted me to get this stuff…I need to do that. Sorry." He gathered up his supplies in his arms, being careful not to crush anything, and hurried off.

_Later..._

"I got everything!"

The blue-haired boy was in the same place Daisuke had left him—lounging against the mast of the raft, reading a book. Daisuke smiled and set the pile of supplies in front of his friend, separating the bottle of water and egg and setting them on one of the logs of the raft. Satoshi's eyes flickered briefly over the objects before turning his attention back to Daisuke.

"Yes, this is everything. Thanks. Here, this is for your help." Satoshi handed Daisuke a bottle of liquid, similar to the one he had given him the day before, but this time, the liquid was blue instead of green.

"Um…thanks, Satoshi."

"Mm," the bluenette replied, looking up at the sky. "It's getting dark. We should go home soon."

"Huh? Oh yeah."

Indeed, the sun was just starting to set, creating a wide band of red, orange, and pink where the sky met the ocean and tinting the water where it reflected. The two boys stared at the sunset for a bit silently, until Satoshi spoke up.

"Dark has been acting strange lately."

Daisuke frowned in slight confusion and glanced over at Satoshi. The boy was still staring at the horizon, although the sunlight glinted off his glasses and made it impossible to see his eyes, and his hands were in his pockets.

"He has?"

"You haven't noticed?"

"Mm…"

Suddenly, Satoshi tore his attention away from the sunset and over to Daisuke, taking the redhead slightly by surprise.

"Daisuke, why don't we go? Right now."

"Now? What about Dark?" Daisuke looked around him, wondering if perhaps Dark was standing somewhere nearby. He wasn't.

"Weren't you saying yesterday that you wanted to go without him?" Satoshi continued, a faint smile on his face.

"N-no! I never said that! Satoshi…."

"Lighten up, Daisuke. It was only a joke. I don't really want to leave the islands, but if we do leave, I know that I can always come back whenever I want. Isn't that right, Daisuke?"

Daisuke laughed nervously, causing his speech to stutter. "R-Right. Th-that's right."

"Great. We set sail tomorrow, then."

_----------_

_Disney Castle_

_--Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'. Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by one. _

_And that means disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all but I've gotta go check into it._

_There's someone with a "key"-the key to our survival._

_So I need you and Goofy to find him, and stick with him. Got it? We need that key or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find Leon. He'll point you in the right direction._

_P.S._

_Would ya apologize to Minnie for me? Thanks, pal.—_

Queen Minnie set the letter down on the table, smoothing out the creases, before turning to the others gathered in the room—Donald, Goofy, and Daisy. Donald bowed his head, staring at the floor in dismay, Goofy shrugged and scratched the back of his head, and Daisy looked worried.

"Oh dear, what could this _mean_?"

"It means we'll just have to trust the king," Minnie reassured Daisy, moving to stand next to her.

"Gawrsh, I hope he's all right," Goofy said thoughtfully, placing one finger on his lips.

"Your Highness," Donald said, placing one hand over his heart, "don't worry. We'll find the king _and_ this 'key'."

Minnie smiled. "Thank you." Turning to Goofy, she added, "Both of you."

Donald turned to the female duck, Daisy, next. "Daisy, can you take care of—"

"Of course," she interrupted him, nodding. "You be careful, now, both of you."

Just then, the queen remembered something and uttered a soft "Oh!" that was almost a squeak. She moved closer to the table.

"And to chronicle your travels, he will accompany you." She gestured with one white-gloved hand towards the table. The court wizard peered at the table, confused, but didn't see anything but what had already been on there before, with the addition of the king's letter.

"Over here!" a tiny voice shouted.

Finally, Donald's eyes caught sight of something small jumping up and down on the tabletop. It was a cricket, a well-dressed one that stood on two legs. The insect wore what appeared to be a miniscule tuxedo jacket with a white shirt and red vest, along with a pale blue top hat and shiny black-and-white shoes. When he was noticed, the cricket tipped his hat in greeting and introduced himself.

"Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket, at your service."

Minnie spoke up again. "We hope for your safe return. Please help the king."

Donald nodded and straightened into a salute, placing his hand over his heart again. Daisy and Minnie nodded at him in approval. Goofy seemed a bit confused about the whole thing, as he was standing next to Daisy, giving Donald a military salute. Donald glared at him as he stomped over to the guard captain and grabbed his arm.

"You're coming, too!" he quacked angrily, dragging Goofy from the library.

_Later…_

"Gawrsh, Jiminy, your world disappeared, too?"

Goofy, Donald, and Jiminy made their way down the huge spiral staircase leading to the Gummi ship hangar. Well, Goofy and Donald did; Jiminy rode on top of Goofy's hat. The ships were hardly ever used, but it was still handy to have them available in case an evacuation was required. Nobody really knew about them, except for the king, queen, and those very close to them. They were kept way below even the basement of the castle, where few could get without special permission.

"It was terrible," Jiminy continued. "We were scattered. And as far as I can see, I'm the only one who made it to this castle." He said the last part with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Goofy?" Donald asked suddenly.

"Oh, right. I gotcha," Goofy replied, remembering what the two had talked about earlier. "While we're in other worlds, we can't let on where we're from. We've got to protect the world border." He was proud that he had remembered.

Donald shook his head. "'Order'."

"Right. World _order_." Goofy laughed.

Donald sighed and nobody said anything for a minute as they passed through a short tunnel.

"I guess we'll need new duds when we get there, huh?" Goofy asked as the trio passed through a door shaped like a crown. He was ignored.

The hangar looked less like a ship storage area and more like the inside of an enormous clock. There were gears of all sizes all over, most of them very large, with the largest one situated next to the entrance. A pair of giant white gloves glided about the area on tracks built into the ceiling, taking stuff from one place to another. A number of other devices existed that either sat stationary, or emitted steam or sounds, but few really knew exactly what these devices did, or even if they were actually necessary. The exceptions were the Gummi ships themselves, one of which was sitting right in the middle of the room.

There was a pipe in the corner of the control platform, similar in appearance to talking tubes used on sailing ships. Donald walked over to the tube and spoke into it, cupping a hand around his beak as he did so.

"Hello up there? Donald Duck to launch crew! Anytime you're ready."

Above the platform, one crewmember gave a crisp salute and he and his partner jumped into action. The chipmunk that had given the salute scampered across the control center and jumped onto a lever, causing it to lower. He then dropped to the ground and turned to the other chipmunk to make sure he had pulled the right lever.

Below, the hangar came to live. Steam began issuing from a number of pipes, and some gears began to turn rapidly. The gloves, which had been moving spare parts, glided over to Goofy and Donald and gently picked both of them up. The gloves then sped over to the Gummi ship and dropped the pair in. Just then, Pluto dashed into the room, skidded across the floor, and slid into the Gummi ship with a yelp.

A door just in front of the ship started opening, and the ship's engine started in response. As the seconds went by, the ship started vibrating, and the vibrations got stronger and stronger. The door opened all the way, revealing a runway lined with bright blue and red lights, which turned into barely visible pinpricks at the very end. The ship was slowly raised level with the runway, and down below, Daisy and the queen had appeared to see everyone off.

Donald winked gave an enthusiastic thumbs up to Daisy before pointing a finger down the runway.

"Blast off!" he yelled.

But the ship didn't. Instead, a red arrow appeared in front of the runway, pointing straight down. Somewhere, an alarm sounded and before anyone could react, the floor beneath the Gummi ship vanished. Donald and Goofy screamed as the ship immediately went into free-fall, falling through a pitch-black tunnel before the engine kicked back on. Donald regained his senses and took the controls, steering the ship out and into the unknown.

* * *

I would like to give credit to GameFAQs for the game script, which helped me write the Disney Castle part. 


	6. One Way Ticket Outta Here

Author's Note: Yay haitus! I realized that this had been on haitus for about 6 months and was motivated to update it. Sorry for the wait to anyone who was reading this. I hope this chapter is as good as the previous chapters.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or DN Angel. They're owned by Squeenix and Disney, and Yukiru Sugsaki, respectively. I'm just borrowing the characters.

* * *

It's true that one's personality can often be determined, or at the very least, hinted at just by seeing the space they live in. Daisuke's bedroom told a lot about the person who lived in it. It was a nice-sized room, with two windows—a long, thin one that didn't open and a larger one that opened via a lever on the wall to a small balcony—and a bunk bed being the focal points of the room. In the corner sat a pile of dirty laundry, partially hidden by an easel with a sheet haphazardly thrown over it; a bit of blue could be seen at one corner not covered by the sheet.

Across the floor were scattered various items including clothes, art materials, candy wrappers, books, and a stuffed animal that may have been a rabbit or a cat. Soon, a crumpled piece of paper joined these items on the floor, thrown by Daisuke, who sighed in frustration and began his sketch again, screwing up his face and frowning at the paper as it were at fault. With another sigh, he closed his sketchbook and reached for a dark shape perched at the edge of the desk, just out reach of the lamp's light, pulling it towards him.

It was a ship, about the size of a toaster and appeared to be made mostly of driftwood and cloth. A large stick served as a "mast" and a larger piece of untattered orange cloth served as a flag; it had a crudely-drawn paopu on it. Inside the miniature ship were three dolls—one had a jumble of red yarn for hair, one had blue, and the third had a mess of purple hair, and none of them had clothes, though they had x's stitched on them that indicated faces. Daisuke plucked the doll with the blue yarn-hair out and stared at it.

"_I know that I can always come back whenever I want. Isn't that right, Daisuke?"_

"_R-Right. Th-that's right."_

"_Great. We set sail tomorrow, then."_

Daisuke smiled at the conversation. Tomorrow the three would leave the island on their raft and finally get to see what was outside the islands, and maybe they would find Satoshi's home. Daisuke got up from the desk, still holding the Satoshi-doll, pressed the lever that allowed the window to open up, and stepped onto the balcony.

Strangely, there was a strong breeze that night. Daisuke, wearing short sleeves and shorts, shivered slightly and hugged his arms closer to himself to keep warm. Usually nights on the islands were warm enough to be outside in a t-shirt and shorts, or even warm enough to go down to the beach for a midnight swim. Cool breezes were very uncommon, strong ones even more so.

Suddenly, Daisuke dashed to the railing and leaned over, peering through the darkness at the other island, the now-forgotten breeze whipping his hair everywhere.

"A storm?" he asked no one in particular, still leaning over the railing. Then he realized something. "Oh no, the raft!" He hesitated briefly, unsure whether to go back to his bedroom. His mother would never allow him to go to the other island at night, especially during a storm and especially not right before dinner. He took a deep breath and vaulted the railing, dropping the Satoshi-doll as he did so.

Inside the house, footsteps could be heard on the stairs leading up to Daisuke's room.

"Daisuke, honey, dinner's ready."

There was a pause, and the sound of the doorknob turning and the door creaking slightly as it opened. The dark shape of a woman stepped into the room.

"Daisuke?"

----------

Daisuke didn't even wait to tie his boat to the dock before he climbed out of it, and barely even noticed that there were two other boats in addition to his. On the dock, his attention was immediately directed towards a large black-and-purple sphere hanging in the air right above Dark's island, causing the sky around it to look much lighter in comparison.

"What's that?!" he wondered about the sphere. He looked down. "Dark's boat? And Satoshi's! They're here, too?"

Just then Daisuke felt something on his foot and glanced down again, choosing to jump back almost immediately. There, on the dock, was one of the shadowy creatures from his dream—no, make that five. Daisuke backed up toward the island nervously, hands held palm-out in case any of the shadows decided to leap at him. His wooden practice sword was at home in his room, so he had nothing to defend himself with. By this time, the shadows had multiplied twofold, so Daisuke did the best thing he could think of to do.

He ran as fast as he could.

He dashed across the plateau that ran in front of the secret place to the shed and quickly scrambled on top of the wooden structure, panting slightly. Below, the shadows clustered around the shed, looking up at him and twitching their antennae erratically. He turned around, feeling briefly victorious, and spotted a familiar person standing across the bridge.

"Dark!" Daisuke ran across the connecting bridge to his friend, who was standing with his back to the redhead in the middle of the island. He skidded to a halt at the end of the bridge.

"Where's Satoshi? Isn't he with you?"

"The door has opened..." Dark replied without turning around.

"What?" Daisuke shivered again, but this time not from the cold. Something didn't seem quite right.

"The door has opened, Daisuke!" Dark repeated, finally turning around. He was grinning like a madman, which wasn't so unusual for him, but this time the grin had something of a malicious quality to it. "Now we can get off these islands and see the world outside!"

"What are you talking about? We gotta find Satoshi first!" Daisuke said, cautiously approaching Dark and stopping a few feet away.

The purple-haired teen regarded his friend skeptically. "He's coming with us. Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We probably won't see our parents again. There's no turning back. This is our only chance!" A small dark circle appeared under Dark's feet, but he didn't seem to notice it, even as it started to grow larger. His grin returned, and he held out one hand to Daisuke.

"We can't let fear stop us now. I'm not afraid of the darkness…are you, Daisuke?"

_It's just like my dream!_

Daisuke lunged at his friend, reaching for his hand, just like in the dream. He was inches away from accomplishing this when tendrils of darkness suddenly sprang up and enveloped the two boys. He swiped at Dark's hand with his own, trying to grab it, but the darkness seemed intent on preventing them from even touching one another.

There was a flash of bright light and the next thing Daisuke knew, he was laying on the ground on the bridge and Dark was nowhere to be seen. Strangely, he was clutching the handle of the most bizarre weapon he'd ever seen. It was a giant key, about half his height, with a gold handle, silver "blade" and a pale gold hand guard. It was more like a bat than anything else, being completely blunt with the exception of the silver part, which was shaped like a three-pointed crown and looked decently sharp and pointy.

_Keyblade…Keyblade…_

Daisuke looked around for the source of the voice and found no one, except the large sphere still hovering in the air nearby.

"I need to find Satoshi!"

He scrambled to his feet and stuck the new Keyblade into his belt, like he usually did with his practice sword and surveyed the island. His intuition told him that Satoshi would be on the other side of the island, so he jumped from the bridge and ran over to the door.

"Huh?!"

Apparently the door was locked, or just jammed shut, but either way, no amount of pushing or pulling would open it. Daisuke slumped against the door out of frustration. If he couldn't open the door, Satoshi probably couldn't have either, and that meant the bluenette was somewhere on the other half of the island. Unfortunately, he didn't have any more time to think about it; shadows were beginning to gather around him again. He pulled the Keyblade out and ran through the groups of shadows, swinging the weapon at them randomly, heading for the secret place.

The cave was the same as it had always been inside, but at night it was nearly pitch black. Daisuke kept one hand on the wall as he made his way inside, being especially careful not to trip over any loose rocks, until his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Eventually the tunnel ended and Daisuke found himself in the cave, but once again, he wasn't alone.

"Satoshi!" He called to the boy, who was standing in front of the door, staring at it. He slowly turned upon hearing his name.

"Daisuke…" he murmured, making no move to approach the redhead. In fact, he didn't move at all, aside from turning around, and stared vacantly at Daisuke. A second later, the door swung violently open and a fierce wind rushed out, causing Daisuke to shield his face briefly. The wind continued, pushing Daisuke back and Satoshi towards Daisuke, but when Daisuke reached out to catch his friend, the bluenette disappeared right in front of his eyes. Soon, the force of the wind became too strong for Daisuke to handle, and he was blown right out of the cave.

"Oof!" he cried, landing mostly on his elbows, wondering what just happened. Aside from the fact that both of his best friends had disappeared into midair and he had just acquired a new giant key-weapon, he decided that what was going on was NOT a normal storm. This fact was driven home by what he saw next.

He had ended up at the far edge of the mini-island, now devoid of everything but him and the sphere still hovering in the air above it. However, everything else was gone or reduced to floating debris—the sky, the ocean, the islands—except for the bit of land Daisuke was sitting on, but even that was starting to break apart. Even worse, Daisuke's only companion was a shadowy creature as big as the island itself, a shadow with clawed hands, no feet, and a huge, heart-shaped hole in its chest.

"I…guess I have to fight…again…" Daisuke stared up at the shadow from his spot on the ground, holding the Keyblade out in front of him for defense. He took a few deep breaths, trying not to panic. This didn't work for long, as the giant shadow started off attacking, slamming its hand down onto the island like a sledgehammer right in front of Daisuke, who dove out of the way and scrambled to his feet, clutching the Keyblade in both hands.

Dark patches began appearing, and out of them came smaller shadows, which Daisuke knew how to deal with. One, two, three swings demolished them, but it wasn't easy to eliminate them when they flattened themselves to the ground, or when the giant decided to attack.

Glancing at the giant told him that it was charging up an attack—it was gathering a ball of energy in the hole in its chest similar to the one above. Daisuke stopped attacking the shadows and ran, just as the ball split into pieces and went after him. The giant slammed its fist down again, and this time Daisuke grabbed onto the hand and carefully but quickly climbed up it.

"Your face is wide open!" he yelled at the shadow, and when it turned its yellow eyes to him, he began slashing it across the face with the Keyblade, holding onto one of the shadowy dreadlocks so he wouldn't fall off. Suddenly, two things happened at once—first, the giant collapsed and melted into a black mist—and second, the Keyblade disappeared right out of its owner's hands. Once again, a fierce wind kicked up and Daisuke found himself being sucked upwards, towards the black sphere.

He tried to find something to grab onto, but there were no trees, no plants, nothing to get a hold of but dirt. He clutched desperately at a piece of random driftwood that flew by—apparently, debris was being sucked in, too. The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was the sight of the island shattering.

_I don't want to die._

----

_Traverse Town_

"Look, a star's goin' out!" Goofy exclaimed, pointing up at the sky. His companion followed his arm to a star almost directly above them. As they watched, the star suddenly blinked away, leaving darkness in its place. Goofy stared at the sky for a few more seconds, oblivious to Donald tugging on his pant leg. Nearby, Pluto was preoccupied with sniffing the cobblestones, his tail wagging furiously.

"Come on. Let's hurry," Donald urged, pulling Goofy's arm this time, muttering to himself. "Where's that key…?"

"Hey, ya know, maybe we ought to go find Leon." Goofy suggested, most of his attention directed at Pluto, who had bounded off into one of the alleyways. Donald paused.

"No! We need to find the key first," Donald insisted.

"Uh, Donald. Ya know, I betcha that…" Goofy started to suggest something else, but Donald cut him off.

"Aw, what do you know, you big palooka?"

The captain of the guard placed a finger to his lips in thought. "What _do_ I know? Come on Pluto." He went after Donald, not bothering to see if Pluto actually came or not.

Pluto didn't answer the call. After all, he had found something interesting in the alleyway. It was a boy with red hair, who was asleep against the wall of one of the buildings, behind a stack of empty crates. Much more interesting than whatever his masters were looking for. He planted a big wet kiss on the side of the boy's face, causing him to stir.

"Huh? What a dream…" Daisuke muttered sleepily.

Pluto jumped on Daisuke and tried to lick him again. This actually _did_ wake Daisuke up.

"This isn't a dream!" he cried, flailing a bit before he realized there was a dog on his chest.

Daisuke pushed Pluto off of him and got to his feet, looking around. The alleyway was pretty nondescript, containing only a few stacks of crates and ending in a decrepit wooden privacy fence. A rat ran by nearby, and Pluto growled at it. At the other end of the alley was a building, and Daisuke could see lights beyond the building.

"Where _am_ I? Oh man." He glanced down at Pluto, who responded by wagging his tail. "Do you know where we are?" He didn't really expect an answer, though, seeing as Pluto hadn't talked yet and didn't look like he was going to talk any time soon. Instead, he replied by running out of the alley.

"Hey! Come back!" Daisuke shouted.

* * *

:happiness: I finally got off of Destiny Islands. Now the plot can begin. 


End file.
